Hardware - Wide Format Print

 

The Spectro LFP RT, leading spectrophotometer for color measurements in digital large format, flatbed and industrial printing again got several improvements and is now available as Series 3 edition.

Accurate measurements of transparent and reflective media, thick and heavy media, big measuring aperture and fully automatic measurements: these are the special characteristics which until now kept the Spectro LFP unique worldwide. All these features also the Series 3 device does combine.

Versatility, user friendliness and new application fields where the keywords for implementing the improvements of the Spectro LFP Series 3. The main improvements are:

 

• Switchable measuring aperture of 8, 6 and 2mm
• Polarisation filter for 8, 6 and 2mm aperture
• Electrostatic sample holder

 

Especially for new application fields such as digital textile printing the larger aperture of 8mm is fundamental to gain the maximum measuring accuracy. Combined with the special measuring geometry and the fully automatic measurements it is the ideal device for this application. For high resolution prints the smaller apertures are preferred.

The polarisation filter allows measuring also the most crucial and exotic materials with shining surfaces or inks.

For easy mounting of most different thin, reflective media (including textiles and fabrics) a special electrostatic sample holder is available. Thanks to this the charts can be placed and fixed easily and quick.

Thanks to its special features the Spectro LFP became market leader in digital large format, flatbed and industrial printing and the Series 3 device again confirms and strengthens this position. It allows measuring every kind of media, will it be transparent or reflective, thin or thick gaining always the maximum accuracy.

Same as the Spectro LFP Series 2 also the Series 3 devices are driven by most important Rip software.

The Spectro LFP Series 3 will be available as from May 1, 2010.

For an International list of official Barbieri distributors click here. Barbieri devices are distributed in the UK by IGS UK Ltd, www.igsuk.net

 

 

 

Simplifying the ordering and fast delivery of wide-format printer spares and ancillary items which don’t require an engineer’s visit, Tech8 has announced an on-line purchasing facility so that user-replaceable parts can be sourced quickly and efficiently. This new resource follows the growing trend for secure web-based shopping and features a comprehensive catalogue of everyday and less common, yet essential, items.

Tech8’s clearly laid-out on-line store is simple to navigate, with a menu displaying the choice of products available. For additional ease of use when defining categories, a search engine is able to locate an item name or code, and all available items are attractively priced with most being available ex-stock.

Typical products include print-heads, manifolds and caps, pinch rollers, refillable ink cartridges, main boards and power units. Along with a comprehensive selection of wide-format ink-jet printer elements, the comprehensive catalogue also includes cleaning and maintenance items, wiper blades and cabling.

Unless they are generic, all of the spare parts specify relevant compatibility with their printer models to avoid a user purchasing the wrong element. Mos t commonly u sed items are dispatched within 24 hours and delivery is available throughout the UK, all of Europe and the rest of the world, with payment options being in sterling, Euros and US dollars.

“Now that wide-format printer users are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about their machines it makes sense to offer them a single source from which to buy most of their everyday spares,” comments Tom Plunkett, technical director of Tech8. “Additionally, these businesses can save time and money by using on-line shopping, with the additional knowledge that the items they are purchasing are of high quality, keenly priced and sourced from responsible manufacturers.”

Purchases are added to a shopping cart, and payment is via secure server which accepts PayPal and most major debit and credit cards. Tech8’s web area for spare parts and their ordering can be reached via its main site at www.tech8.eu which also outlines the comprehensive warranty options available from the company.

 

 

New 104-inch Dual Roll Kit extends printing capabilities

HP today announced its suite of solutions for the signage market - currently on display at the International Sign Association (ISA) International Sign Expo 2010 - to help print service providers (PSPs) increase productivity and capture new growth opportunities.

 

Highlights include:

 

• The new HP 2.6 m (104-inch) Dual Roll Kit for HP Latex printers, which allows printers to increase productivity by turning around single jobs faster or printing two jobs at the same time

 

"HP is committed to providing our customers with technologies and solutions that help them increase application offerings and operational efficiencies," said Yariv Avisar, vice president and general manager, Scitex Large format Solutions, HP. "With the addition of the Dual Roll Kit and strong customer momentum across the portfolio, it is clear that HP is delivering solutions that demonstrate our understanding of the market and ability to meet customer needs."

 

HP increases productivity and application capabilities for HP Latex customers

The HP 2.6 m (104-inch) Dual Roll Kit for the HP Designjet L65500 Printer allows customers to significantly increase productivity with the ability to produce single jobs faster with two side-by-side rolls or two different jobs at the same time. Beta customers have reported that they can reach the same level of productivity with two 1.2 m (48-inch) prints with the Dual Roll Kit as with one 2.6 m (104-inch) print. This accessory accommodates rolls of varying widths and lengths. Its stable, reliable design equalizes tension, enabling unattended operation similar to single-roll printing.

"Our productivity has improved with the HP Dual Roll Kit as most of our jobs use banner media narrower than 1.2 m, so we can print on two rolls simultaneously," said Margarita Campos, operations manager at Look Print, a digital large format print shop based in Sydney, Australia, and Dual Roll Kit beta customer.

Since its launch in May 2008, the HP Latex portfolio has seen strong market acceptance with worldwide customer installations, plus more than 50 vendors and 300 media solutions tested and profiled through the HP Latex Solutions Media Programme. Orders for the HP Designjet L25500 Printer have already exceeded expectations by 45 percent, and HP Designjet L65500 printers have produced more than 3 million m2 (32 million ft2) with pages growing at 52 percent quarter over quarter.

Demonstrating the strength of HP Latex Inks for vehicle graphics, HP is the official printer of the American Wrap Star 2010 contest during ISA, producing all of the vehicle wraps, banners and signage for the event. The HP Designjet L65500 Printer will be used to produce more than 1,000 m2 (11,000 ft2) of wrap material for the contest, which includes four rounds of vehicle graphic installation competitions to determine who can wrap a car with the fewest errors in the least amount of time.

More information on the HP large format portfolio is available at www.hp.com/go/GSB and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hpgraphicarts

 

Challenge

• Project Ink wanted to add a water-based Latex ink printing solution to meet the growing demand for odourless and recyclable large format prints.

Solution

• The new HP Designjet L25500 Printer with HP Latex Inks gave Project Ink more in-house printing capabilities.
• Project Ink used recyclable HP large format printing materials,1 including HP HDPE Reinforced Banner, HP DuPont™ Tyvek® Banner, HP Wrinkle-free Flag with Liner, and HP White Satin Poster Paper.

Results

• The HP Designjet L25500 Printer appeals to environmentally conscious customers by delivering odourless prints2 on recyclable HP printing materials that can be recycled through the HP Large format Media take-back program.1
• Project Ink can now print a broad range of applications in-house such as posters, wallpaper and high-end point-of-purchase displays without making any adjustments to the printer.
• With high-quality indoor and outdoor signage, Project Ink can also meet the needs of high-end clients who demand durable prints that have a reduced environmental impact.

Signs of the times

California-based Project Ink is a growing large format printing and graphics agency and one of the first companies in the United States to put the new HP Designjet L25500 Printer-and its ability to reduce the environmental impact of printing-to work for its clients.

"Our major focus is on printing with the environment in mind, keeping quality high while keeping waste and costs low," explains owner Kyle Morrison. After more than 15 years in the industry, Morrison was surprised by large format print providers' lack of focus on clients' environmental needs. In 2005, he launched Project Ink to fill that void, and in 2009, he chose the HP Designjet L25500 to add more environmentally conscious printing capabilities in-house.

Morrison's move toward reducing printing waste and using recyclable printing materials matches a growing interest among his clients, including Jade Aveda Salon Spas and Volcom, a maker of clothing for skate, surf and snow enthusiasts. According to Morrison, the printer's broad media versatility and water-based HP Latex Inks have already enabled him to increase business, produce more of his work in-house and improve his work environment.

Versatility enables new business opportunities

Until recently, Project Ink relied on a non-HP solventbased printer for some jobs and outsourced others to a print service provider operating an HP Designjet L65500 Printer with HP Latex Inks. When Morrison learned about water-based HP Latex Inks and recyclable HP media options,1 he knew he had to have an HP Designjet L25500 in his shop.

"Since then, I haven't turned on my non-HP printer once," Morrison says. "The media versatility alone allows us to print more in-house. I can go from poster paper to traditional and recyclable banners to fabric without having to make any adjustments." Morrison has already used many of the HP printing materials designed together with HP Latex Inks and the HP Designjet L25500, including HP PVC-free Wall Paper, HP White Satin Poster Paper, and HP DuPont™ Tyvek® Banner.

"For the Jade Aveda Salons, we used HP Wrinklefree Flag with Liner to complete a job we would normally outsource," Morrison says. "Flags are really popular in California, and with the HP Designjet L25500, we can do custom prints directly on them."

Project Ink also produced posters and wallpaper for the salon. "The salon is a high-fashion atmosphere, so the feel of the fabric and the smell-or lack of smell-is important," says Morrison. Unlike most printers that use solvent inks, the HP Designjet L25500 with HP Latex Inks produces odourless prints.2

Sarah Weeks, owner of Jade Aveda Salon Spas, explains, "The Latex printing by HP is extremely beneficial in that it's aroma-free, environmentally friendly and looks beautiful."

According to Volcom, producing odourless prints2 with HP Latex Inks is important to their brand and their health. Leonard Fiedorowicz, sales marketing director, says, "We've received banners [printed with solvent inks] before that look great, but smell up our whole shop. We want to use all Latex inks so we're printing as sustainably as we can."

Reduced waste and cost equals added value

In addition to reducing the environmental impact of printing a wide variety of applications, the HP Designjet L25500 enables Project Ink to reduce the waste associated with traditional large format printing. A free and convenient HP program for recycling Original HP ink cartridges and printheads3 is available. "With the new HP printer," Morrison says, "I can recycle the cartridges for free, saving a trip to the landfill and the associated costs."

Another benefit that Morrison and his clients are enthusiastic about is the recyclable HP media1 and HP Large format Media take-back programme.1 "Volcom was really excited to hear that we could print banners and signage directly on HP Tyvek® because it's recyclable. In fact, Volcom has begun to work with Project Ink more because we offer recyclable media." Fiedorowicz agrees: "Being able to take banners and prints and recycle them-that's closing the loop. It's really important and exciting to us."

The change has been a long time coming, according to Morrison. "Large format printing really missed the boat in terms of reducing waste. There are packaging solutions that include post-consumer or FSC-certified material, but signage has traditionally ended up in the landfill. HP enables us to offer a complete solution for our environmentally conscious clients. To me, the HP Designjet L25500 Printer with HP Latex Inks, recyclable HP media and the take back programme make HP second to none in this area."

Mutoh America, wide format printer manufacturer, streamlines the entire color management workflow with its new SPECTROVUE VM-10, a miniature integrated spectrophotometer that connects to the print head of the new ValueJet 1608HS Hybrid Printer to help automate the process of colour calibration.

The Mutoh SPECTROVUE VM-10 is a compact spectrophotometer developed for on-printer color calibration. The patent-pending design incorporates Mutoh's own DP1 spectral imaging chip, a high-resolution "digital prism" that converts visible light to a digital spectrum. The SPECTROVUE reports both spectral and colorimetric values for any one of 18 pre-programmed standard illuminants or any standard daylight illuminant. It helps to ensure greater productivity by automating the tedious task of printing and measuring colour targets.

"The SPECTROVUE VM-10 enhances productivity, reduces time and wasted media, and encourages better in-shop colour management practices providing our end-users superior and reliable colour reproduction," said Brian Phipps, Mutoh's Director of Sales.

Combined with compatible RIP software, regular use of the SPECTROVUE VM-10 helps to ensure optimum colour reproduction and reproducibility; it enhances image quality by utilising the full colour gamut of the printer; and, achieves a higher level of colour consistency for multi-run print jobs and jobs printed on different substrates. Calibration quick colour checks can be performed with minimal impact on production schedules. And, with the SPECTROVUE, colour patch layouts are optimized to fit the full width of the media, minimising waste and improving overall productivity.

Developed by Mutoh's Phoenix-based Advanced Engineering Group, the SPECTROVUE VM-10 works well on both rigid and flexible materials, and glossy and matte surfaces. Supported by Onyx Graphics' ProductionHouse and RIPCenter, Mutoh Edition software, for the Mutoh VJ-1608HS Hybrid Printer. Fast, accurate, repeatable, reliable and automatic. Save time, save media, save money with Mutoh's SPECTROVUE VM-10 on-printer spectrophotometer. Available mid June, 2010.

HP will be showcasing a comprehensive selection of its portfolio of large to super-wide format digital printing solutions on its stand (Hall B2 Stand120) at FESPA in Munich.

HP's Application City comprises several distinct areas, which reflect the market demands for key applications. HP offers the broadest portfolio of sign and display printers on the market, optimised for each of these sectors, and will be running themed live jobs and demonstrations as well as showing actual applications.

Areas featured comprise:

• Packaging and POP
• Banners and Flags
• Interior decoration
• Billboards and Posters
• Vehicle wraps

On the stand HP will be demonstrating its products that are at the forefront of the analogue to digital revolution, as well as those incorporating innovative latex technology, which are leading the greening of sign and display printing.

In addition to new products, HP will be showing HP SmartStream Designer 4.0 software that processes data for Variable Data Printing (VDP) for wide format localised applications. Improved productivity, internal cost reduction and immediacy are among the key benefits. VDP offers electronic collation (the sequential printing of graphics for a specific destination) and versioning (tailoring graphics for a region or venue). Creating jobs with templates and fixed data or variable text and image elements for merging with data lists can lead to time and cost savings as well as increased versatility for increased marketing capabilities.

HP representatives will also be on-hand to discuss the HP's Print Care programme, which enables customers to gain uptime and achieve virtually continuous printing by providing diagnostic and print quality assistance tools.

Products on the stand include:

• The HP Designjet L25500 Printer, which offers easy, low-maintenance printing of a wider range of applications - from indoor point-of-purchase displays, exhibition graphics and interior décor like wall murals and fabrics to outdoor banners, bus shelters and vehicle wraps - than is possible with eco-solvent or traditional water-based printing alone(1)
• The HP Scitex FB7500 Printer, which delivers industry-leading productivity along with high print speeds and standard three-quarter automation, set to become a market leader in the analog to digital 'revolution'
• The HP Scitex XP5300 Printer, designed for high-speed, high-volume industrial print environments, it offers a powerful combination of industry-leading print speeds(2) and high-quality UV inks.
• The HP Scitex XP2750 Printer, a 3.2m wide-format UV ink printer with a new integrated flatbed module that delivers high-quality output up to 635 x 800dpi (1270 x 1600dpi apparent) on both flexible and rigid media. With a maximum speed of 110m²/hr, the printer is ideal for high-volume environments looking for flexibility of output.

"HP is pleased to be continuing its Corporate Sponsorship of FESPA for the fourth year running. Print service providers operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment, with increased demands from customers and brand managers". Said François Martin, marketing director, Graphics Solutions Business EMEA, HP. "Keeping ahead of the competition is essential and FESPA is the best venue for PSPs to visit the HP stand and see the latest cutting edge technology."